Declare drought national disaster, NE MPs urge Ruto

A severe drought sweeping across Northeastern has triggered urgent calls for President William Ruto to declare the situation a national disaster.

Latest projections indicate that at least 2.1 million people could be affected as water sources dry up, pasture diminishes and livestock deaths rise.

Lawmakers from the hardest-hit counties warned that the crisis is escalating faster than current interventions can manage.

MPs from the Northern Frontier Counties (NFC), led by Eldas MP, Adan Keynan said the short rains have failed demanding that the Government must now find a lasting solution, once and for all.

Keynan said the region is grappling with severe drought conditions, saying once it is declared a national disaster, it will be able to receive better humanitarian support.

Garissa alone has a record 30,000 families facing critical food and water shortages.

“The October-December short rains have been notably below average, exacerbated by La Nina and a negative Indian Ocean dipole, which have led to higher than normal temperatures and suppressed rainfall across the region,” Keynan said.

“According to the integrated food security phase classification, around 2.1 million people in the Asal counties were projected to face crisis level food insecurity between October and January, 2026.”

Intense competition over scarce resources of water and pasture is leading to rising tensions and conflicts within pastoral communities, the MP said.

“Vulnerable populations, especially women and children are facing heightened risks of malnutrition and displacement due to ongoing drought. The impact of La Nina and the negative Indian Ocean dipole are expected to prolong the drought extending it into early 2026,” Keynan said.

The MPs argued that declaring the drought a national disaster would unlock additional emergency funding, streamline humanitarian support and enable international partners to scale up interventions.

They said the government must scale up emergency food aid, cash transfer and livestock support to the most affected counties to alleviate immediate suffering.

The lawmakers also demanded an urgent need to invest in boreholes, water trucking an rehabilitation of community water points to reduce reliance on increasingly dry riverbeds.

The MPs also said the government must invest in climate smart infrastructure, support diversification of livelihoods beyond pastoralism and strengthen coordination.

In addition, they called for expansion of drought resilient agricultural practices, promoting fodder production and integrating early warning systems into local county planning.

They at the same time demanded introduction of livestock offtake programme saying a goat now sells at about Sh1,000 from Sh15,000.

Mandera West MP, Yussuf Adan said it is unfortunate that the region continues to experience same problem each year despite the government knowing the cycle.

“It is high time the government to put serious attention to this problem. We have been complaining about budgets for the Northern region but now we are talking about lives of human beings,” he said.

“We are asking the government to declare this a national disaster. If the government does not face it head on, humans will die and we appeal for immediate intervention, we are staring at a situation of mass deaths if nothing is done.”

Wajir North MP Saney Ibrahim faulted the government for giving the region lip service while the people suffer.

 “The work of the government is to protect lives. I do not know why we should appeal for emergency yet the trends are known. Any serious government must apportion funds,” he said.

“Government must rightfully avail itself, we cannot always be crying, why is the National Disaster Management Authority not well funded? We will always have drought but it is about preparedness. The buck stops with the Government.”